You’ve got a new business… what’s the first thing you think to do to brand it? For most people it’s designing the logo. Maybe you think you’ll give it a go yourself with one of the online creator tools. Or perhaps you think you’ll get a sign writer to put something together for you while they design stickers for your car to kill two birds with one stone. Then, of course, you may think you’ll leave it to the experts – the graphic designers.
Between all of these options, logo prices vary quite wildly. Disregarding the DIY and sign writer options, prices for logos vary significantly between designers. Why is that?
Reason 1: Your logo price may include a variety of file formats
You’re searching online and find a cheap as chips logo design option. Doing a little happy dance you immediately hand over your $10 and eagerly await your logo. It’s not until you get it back from the designer and try to put it into action that something inside you sinks. You’ve only been given one picture of your logo design (probably either in a PNG or JPEG format) but you need multiple file formats to ensure it looks its best in different mediums. You’ll want a high resolution PDF to print on your staff uniforms, a PNG-72 for your website… and this is just the beginning…
When you work with a professional design team, they’ll know you need a variety of formats for your logo and will price it accordingly.
Reason 2: You may be given a number of different logo options
A logo is a logo, is it not? Well, not always. You may want to mix it up a little from medium to medium. Maybe your full logo doesn’t suit your website header navigation and you want something that does. Perhaps you want something a little simpler for your letterhead or you’d like an email signature designed up for you. Most businesses would benefit from having a brand style guide put together to ensure that everyone who works with the brand maintains its quality and consistency.
All of these different file options take additional time. Some designers will lump it all into a fixed logo price and others will consider them as supplemental fees.
Reason 3: You get a different number of concepts to choose from
Your logo price may also reflect how many different concepts a designer will draw up for you. In some instances it’s a case of three strikes and you’re out — if you don’t like what the designer has drafted for you, you will have to pay an additional fee to see more. This is usually to protect the designer from having to go back to the drawing board if a picky client changes their mind mid-process and wants to take another direction entirely.
Whatever the motivation, sometimes a logo price may be lower because you don’t get as much variety from the designer. It’s always a good idea to read the fine print on the quote.
Reason 4: The logo price may reflect the designer’s expertise
In the same way you pay more for a renowned painter than you do for an unknown artist, a designer’s rates go up the more experienced they are. You are paying for their unique talent and their expertise. Generally speaking when you invest in an experienced designer, you’ll see a marked difference in the quality of the design. There’s a reason brands like Apple pay the big bucks for their logo designs. Essentially, you get what you pay for.
Read more: What makes a good logo? The definitive guide.
